- Poor requirements are correlated with failed projects. Poor requirements are to blame for as much as 78% of project failures (ZipDo, 2024).
- As more teams shift to Agile and hybrid methodologies, there is often a struggle to develop consistent practices for requirements management.
- Often, business analysts (BAs), or the role tasked with business analysis or requirements management, haven’t developed the right competencies to successfully execute and add value.
Our Advice
Critical Insight
- Contrary to popular belief, business analysis and requirements management are not dead. They are more critical than ever in an environment of continual disruption and upheaval.
- Good requirements practices are the key to unlocking project and product value and reducing technical debt.
Impact and Result
- Develop an outcome-based common framework for requirements management that works across teams and methodologies.
- Standardize the management of evergreen requirements (requirements as an asset), not one-time change requirements.
- Align requirements management with product backlog management and product delivery processes.
- Develop a requirements management playbook that extends your solution delivery framework.
Member Testimonials
After each Info-Tech experience, we ask our members to quantify the real-time savings, monetary impact, and project improvements our research helped them achieve. See our top member experiences for this blueprint and what our clients have to say.
9.4/10
Overall Impact
$107,903
Average $ Saved
19
Average Days Saved
Client
Experience
Impact
$ Saved
Days Saved
Minnesota Department of Health
Guided Implementation
10/10
$21,920
20
Kieran has an innate ability to flex and pivot during the guided implementation to help us focus on the right pieces. He was also very communicativ... Read More
Federal Bureau of Prisons
Workshop
9/10
$137K
10
There were no worst parts. The best parts were those involving hands on, practical application of the workshop subject matter.
ProDriven Global Brands
Workshop
7/10
N/A
10
Kieron was immensely helpful and knowledgeable on all things discussed, he was also very flexible in customizing the workshop. I wished we would h... Read More
Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools
Guided Implementation
10/10
N/A
N/A
My first interaction with Info-Tech - I'll be able to estimate time/financial impact after we implement the recommended improvements.
EA Sween Company
Guided Implementation
8/10
$13,700
5
Georgia Municipal Association
Workshop
10/10
$13,700
20
Working through situational examples that happen at our company was very helpful.
State of Kansas Human Services
Workshop
8/10
N/A
N/A
I don't know how to estimate the time and money it will save. But from my team, I received excellent feedback. The only thing we need to do now i... Read More
Ideal Boilers Limited
Guided Implementation
10/10
$17,100
5
The team are so informed but more than that so keen to work with us to get to a great answer for our business.
California Department of Motor Vehicles
Guided Implementation
10/10
$137K
20
Vince was the best part. He covered the material clearly, paused for questions and to check our understanding, and he even covered a topic that was... Read More
Mevotech LP
Workshop
9/10
$10,000
5
Fernco Inc
Workshop
10/10
$68,500
20
Worst: Learning the about the requirements gathering fundamentals that need to be in place to be ready up the bottom from the maturity level. B... Read More
Louisiana Department of Health
Workshop
10/10
$13,700
32
There were so many applicable and executable topics that were covered. Everyone on my team talked about how much they enjoyed the discussions and i... Read More
Modesto Irrigation District
Workshop
10/10
$68,500
20
Kieran did a great job presenting the information. I'm already seeing improvements in the way our team works with end-users to gather system requi... Read More
Public Utility District 2 Grant County
Guided Implementation
10/10
$13,712
20
Westoba Credit Union Limited
Workshop
9/10
$600K
50
Best - The material was relevant, and Kieran presented with examples that really drove the critical points home. We are very new to requirements ga... Read More
Great Lakes Water Authority
Workshop
9/10
N/A
N/A
I found the following most useful: • Maturity Assessment • BA Task Deep Dive • Metrics • Stop, Start, Continue, conversation • Elicitation Te... Read More
The President and Fellows of Harvard College, a Massachusetts nonprofit corporation, acting by and through Harvard Business School
Guided Implementation
10/10
N/A
N/A
Working with Vincent has been very encouraging. He is super helpful to our work and is willing to engage at a pace that is sustainable for us. Vinc... Read More
County of Marin IST
Workshop
9/10
$11,699
10
We had explained our needs to the consultant tentatively assigned to facilitate our workshop, however when our facilitator changed, these needs wer... Read More
General Dynamics Land Systems Inc.
Workshop
10/10
N/A
44
Kieran was extremely knowledgeable and was able to answer all our ad hoc questions. We left the week with an action plan and tools to get started.... Read More
Circular Materials
Workshop
10/10
$10,000
10
We really appreciated Kieran's flexibility. He was able to adjust the content and delivery to the attendees to make the learning experience more ... Read More
City of Virginia Beach
Workshop
10/10
$12,999
10
Mr. Herzstein was very well prepared and knowledgeable, and he managed the sessions well. The best part was to see how the teams were engaged in th... Read More
St. Lukes Health System Ltd.
Workshop
8/10
$12,599
2
This was our first InfoTech workshop. Kieran did an amazing job facilitating to a wide range of participants. There were also add-ins that were "bo... Read More
South Carolina Department of Education
Workshop
10/10
$779K
50
Truly an enlightening experience. It gave me a sense of comfort in finding that while we need to do some internal organization and setting some u... Read More
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency
Workshop
9/10
$25,000
20
It is hard to estimate the value. The team did get a good foundational base on gathering requirements. With regards to worst parts it would have be... Read More
State Universities Retirement System Of Illinois
Workshop
8/10
$6,299
90
Kieran's insight based on real-life experiences! The real-time updates to ppt slides for processes, and the worksheets we worked from were very he... Read More
BASS (GSD) LTD
Workshop
9/10
$1.26M
47
Best: We were able to utilize the topics covered within the workshop and able to map that against our organization. Worst: It would have been more ... Read More
LynnCo
Workshop
9/10
N/A
5
The worst part was that I had other priorities come up, and I couldn't attend the whole event.
The Suddath Companies
Workshop
10/10
$20,159
16
No worst parts Best - He was great, engaged everyone and got the most out of the folks who participated This feedback is from Paul Schuster
MUFG Investor Services
Guided Implementation
10/10
N/A
5
Presenter was knowledgeable, friendly, prepared with the right materials and was a good listner.
Dark Fibre Africa
Guided Implementation
8/10
$29,139
10
Requirements Gathering
Poor requirements are the number one reason projects fail.
This course makes up part of the PPM & Projects Certificate.
- Course Modules: 5
- Estimated Completion Time: 2-3 hours
- Featured Analysts:
- Ben Dickie, Research Director, Applications Practice
- David Piazza, VP of Research and Advisory
Workshop: Scale Up Your Requirements Management Practices
Workshops offer an easy way to accelerate your project. If you are unable to do the project yourself, and a Guided Implementation isn't enough, we offer low-cost delivery of our project workshops. We take you through every phase of your project and ensure that you have a roadmap in place to complete your project successfully.
Module 1: Pre-Work
The Purpose
- Establish a baseline for your requirements management maturity.
Key Benefits Achieved
- Awareness of the current-state maturity
- Serves for planning workshop activities to address significant gaps or needs
Activities
Outputs
Complete Requirements Management Maturity Assessment (Current State)
- An assessment of your current-state maturity and areas of improvement
Module 2: Introduction and Current State
The Purpose
- Understand your current-state maturity with requirements and set a baseline from which to improve.
Key Benefits Achieved
- Defined project leveling
- Defined requirements management processes
Activities
Outputs
Based on the current state, prioritize risks and challenges.
Establish requirements management metrics.
Identify your project levels.
- Project level selection
Define your high-level process.
- Requirements management processes
Module 3: Define the Elicitation Process
The Purpose
- Identify stakeholders and define your elicitation processes.
Key Benefits Achieved
- Building a sample elicitation plan to guide requirements efforts
Activities
Outputs
Identify typical project stakeholders.
Understand and document elicitation techniques by use case.
- Project use cases
Create a requirements management elicitation plan for a typical project.
- Project elicitation plan
Module 4: Analyze and Validate Requirements
The Purpose
- Effectively analyze and prioritize your requirements and validate them against stakeholder needs.
Key Benefits Achieved
- A defined standard for documentation and communication with stakeholders
Activities
Outputs
Analyze and categorize requirements.
Prioritize requirements.
Model requirements with use case diagrams or user stories.
Validate your requirements.
Create a requirements management communication plan for a typical project.
- Requirements documentation and communication standards
Module 5: Changes, Requirements, and Backlogs
The Purpose
- Establish a framework for managing changes to requirements and build a plan for continuous improvement.
Key Benefits Achieved
- A roadmap for continuously improving the maturity of your requirements management practices
- A completed Requirements Management BA Playbook
Activities
Outputs
Develop a change control process.
Build guidelines for escalating changes.
Complete Requirements Management Maturity Assessment (target state).
Define roadmap to target-state maturity.
Identify and analyze stakeholders for communication plan.
Create communication management plan.
Build the action plan.
- Target-state roadmap
- Requirements management playbook